CASK Pub and Kitchen

Ruds

United Kingdom (England)

4.78/5  rDev +4.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

I've been a regular at the Cask since it re-opened in its present guise just over 2 years ago

10 cask hand pumps and 10 kegs

hand pumps are all british micro breweries on my last visit these included Blakemere, Dark Star, Thornbridge and Acorn

The keg taps typically feature Scand-Atlantic offerings from Mikkeller, Evil Twin, Grass Roots etc plus the odd Belgian/German and usually 3 or 4 American craft brews. Too many to list but Southern Tier crops up quite a bit. Had a Stone Arrogant Bastard the week before last.

On my last visit (this Monday gone, 17th Oct) all the Kegs were Munchen Oktoberfest beers

The bottled selection is immense - getting on for 500 I believe.

They advertise it as the largest bottled selction in any UK pub.

Food is good and I've had the tasty burger to soak up my beer on many an occasion

They regularly host meet the brewer nights from home and away, Odell's CO back in July and tonight its Mikkeller, also British brewers as you'd expect.

You really can't go wrong with the Cask for both quality and quanity

It is a little pricey - be warned!

The Craft Beer Co, Clerkenwell is owned by the same people.

10-22-2011 15:19:45 | More by Ruds

adamant1912

Michigan

4.64/5  rDev +1.1%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.25 | $$$

Walked into Cask from an empty street and it was packed. Looking at the bottle selection and what was on hand-pump and draft I was quite impressed. The bartender was knowledgable and friendly and the prices were fair for the overall quality of the brews, especially given a lot are quite rare or generally unavailable in almost all other London bars or US bars for that matter (they even had some Kuhnhenn and Short's, which really threw me off). I also loved that they had many UK/ Euro microbrews available in addition to traditional local cask ales. As for food, we sampled a couple pies and had the scotch eggs which were delicious. Definitely recommend a visit and a must try if you're in London as they mend traditional ales and modern craft beer quite nicely.

03-24-2013 07:47:58 | More by adamant1912

Beerstorian

District of Columbia

4.05/5  rDev -11.8%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3 | $$$

I visited this place last April, after living in England for about four months. The selection is pretty good, and you can find beer from the US, Europe, and England here. The food was pretty standard--fish and chips for me and a burger for my companion. Nothing outstanding there.

The main things about this place for me was the ability to find a range of beers in the city after having been in Grantham for so long. I love British beer, but it was nice to be able to get some unusual stuff, especially the oddities from back in the States. The selection is pretty incredible by British standards. By American standards it is slightly above-average.

03-04-2013 18:30:04 | More by Beerstorian

GJ40

North Carolina

4.65/5  rDev +1.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

My wife and I stopped in while visiting London. This is a great neighborhood pub with a very comfortable atmosphere.

They had around ten casks and around another ten taps. Most were British but they also had Belgians. They have a few refrigerator units of bottles which included a good selection of American beers. The bartenders were very helpful and know their stuff.

We had the truffle oil and parmesan fries. They were fantastic and the serving size was generous.

Cask Pub & Kitchen is a great place to relax and try something new.

11-23-2012 00:01:00 | More by GJ40

ogdenjd

Virginia

4.8/5  rDev +4.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

I visited this place on 14 June 2012 on a recent trip to London. This was my favorite pub in London. While Cask doesn't have the same decorum as other traditional pubs, this place makes up for it with their excellent beer selection. Cask is easily accessible by the underground transit system so anyone in the Central London area should be able to get there without any problem. Their beer selection is superb. Cask seems to specialize in English microbreweries on tap and also has an extensive bottle selection. My favorite cask beer was Rapture, a red hop ale from Magic Rock Brewery. C.J. was the bartender and was extremely knowledgeable about beer and can easily help anyone with their selection. Cask also has a good selection of bottles from U.S microbreweries. I told C.J. that I was a little jealous that they carry bottles of Alesmith (IPA, X, and Speedway Stout are the ones I remember) but yet I can't get Alesmith in Northern VA. While there, I also met another Beer Advocate member named Simon, who was also very helpful teaching me about the British craft brew scene. I didn't try the food so I can't comment on their food quality, but the selection seemed to be a a little better than standard pub fare.

Jason

06-28-2012 01:55:34 | More by ogdenjd

Morningstorm

Netherlands

4.66/5  rDev +1.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$$

Had a daytrip to London and stumbled upon this bar. Saw the sign ''craft beer'' so I had to go in.

It was on a saturday around 4-5ish but it was nice and quiet. I had 2 friends with me who didn't know a thing of beer. The bartender was really helpfull with chosing good beers for my friends.

The beerlist was astounding, so many American craft beers on bottle and also a good few on tap! The only problem were the prices, paid around 10 euros for a beer, which is pretty crazy.

After having a few beers we left and I bought some beer right off them. Quite a nice sale they had on!

Whenever I'm in London again, I'll visit this pub again!

04-11-2012 22:18:46 | More by Morningstorm

alfrantzell

California

4.4/5  rDev -4.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$$

With its pea green walls, candles, and cushions, the Cask feels like a cafe or restaurant. But it's neither. Can you guess what it is? The ten casks, ten kegs, and hundreds of bottles at the bar are a clue.

Pints of Dark Star, Thornbridge, and Crouch Vale were ordered on my visits, and I was pleased to find they had on one of the few casks of the Odell/Thornbridge collaboration, Colorado Red. Bottles were prohibitively priced, but we did hazard Sunday roast, which was not sown with as much platinum as its cost implied.

Service was prompt and friendly throughout the day -- we made sure to linger long enough to evaluate it thoroughly -- though one bartender mistook my Irish friend for an American. Flattery will get you everywhere.

01-22-2012 00:09:25 | More by alfrantzell

BeerWanker

Australia

4.4/5  rDev -4.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$$$

for a beer lover, this place is fantastic. plenty of microbrews and one off keg imports, always something new each time i go there (about 5 times now). service is very knowledgeable and they're a decent bunch of guys behind the bar. spirit and wine selection is also top notch, the downside is the price, incredibly expensive at 5-8 pound a pint it is one of the most expensive places ive found in london.

they've only been open since 2009 but they are fast gaining a big following, and for what they offer, i dont mind forking out for some outstanding beers every once in a while.

12-12-2011 19:57:03 | More by BeerWanker

tenesmus

United Kingdom (England)

4.46/5  rDev -2.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | $$$$

Stumbled upon this place in July because it was near to our hotel (Mint Hotel) and a website claimed it did great veggie & vegan food.

Unfortunately for my wife the kitchens were being renovated so no food, but my jaw hit the floor when I went up to the bar - eight or nine English beers on tap ( eg Dark Star and Magic Rock) plus nine or ten imported beer - Rothaus pilsner and weisse, Mikkellers, a kriek, and three saisons amongst others. The range of bottled beers tends to dazzle the customer and the fridges spill out into the bar so you can just open them and select your own.

I did find the service a bit uptight, and the cost is prohibitive for someone who's come down from the North but the atmosphere outside where most folks sit and watch the world go by was engaging and relaxed.

It's certainly unique and deserves the accolades, hopefully its success will inspire others around the UK to follow suit.

11-20-2011 13:48:49 | More by tenesmus

JJB

Arizona

4.85/5  rDev +5.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$$

An American Hop Head in the UK. Not having been to the UK in over 22 years, my wife & I were a bit concerned about getting our hop fix (thus our checked bag with 16 bombers of west coast IPAs). We went to the Cask Pub based on reviews here and had a fantastic time. A bit crowded upon arriving -mostly locals after work -we found a small table for the four of us and later moved to a larger table. Walk to the bar for drinks and food orders. To my surprise and delight they had Ruination on tap - tapped that day. After a pint of Ruination we had Dark Star American Pale Ale on cask which was fresh, hoppy and highly drinkable. We then had Magic Rock High Wire- a tribute to West Coast pale ales/IPAs, another fantastic hoppy ale. We chatted with some of the bartenders when it quieted down. CJ (from Maine) gave a sample of Human Cannonball (Magic Rock IIPA) that was soon to be tapped -also excellent. A Brit bartender acknowledged that craft brewers in the States are in fact making amazing beer right now. Great bottle selection as well for drinking there or take out - bought a Hopsickle for the road! Overall wonderful pub - oh and the food was quite good too -but that was lagniappe for us.
We're back in London from Devon next week and will definitely return!!

08-27-2011 16:37:44 | More by JJB